letterbox
adjEtymology From letter + box.
1
Broadcasting, Film, Media, Television Transferred to home video formats while preserving the original aspect ratio, having black bars above and below the picture area.
letterbox
nounEtymology From letter + box.
› A box into which mail is put.
1
Commonwealth, Ireland, UK A collection point for mail intended for onward delivery, a secure box or receptacle for this purpose.
2
Commonwealth, Ireland, UK A delivery point for mail, a box, compartment or slot for this purpose.
- A wad of junk mail was pushed through the letterbox in the front door and dropped onto the mat.
3
A hidden container that holds a logbook and rubber stamp, found by following clues as a form of recreation.
4
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Mountaineering, Sports A rectangular hole or slot.
- His strength was running out fast: one more good letterbox was all that he could conceive himself able to make. He made it, hacking away with slow, painful strokes, his axe-handle slippery with his sweat.1954, Daniel Talbot, A Treasury of Mountaineering Stories, page 239:
- Derived terms
- letterbox company, letterbox contact, letterboxer, letterbox format